Under the watchful eyes of countless spectators, Chu Feng advanced step by step until he finally stood before Ding Chou. A golden shield in his left hand and a golden longsword in his right, he leveled the blade at Ding Chou and said, "It's over."
*Whoosh—*
Before the words had even left his mouth, Chu Feng moved like lightning. Thunder crackled beneath his feet, and in the blink of an eye he vanished, only to reappear directly behind Ding Chou.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Ding Chou's reflexes were razor-sharp. He spun around and unleashed a devastating punch—a fist laced with Yuan Force hurtling toward Chu Feng, who stood barely an arm's length away.
"Hmph."
Chu Feng let out a cold snort, dismissed the golden shield in his left hand, and gripped the longsword with both hands. Tilting his body ever so slightly, he dodged the incoming blast of Yuan Force entirely.
Chu Feng closed the distance in an instant, tensed both arms, and drove the sword straight forward. With a sickening thud, the golden longsword plunged into Ding Chou's chest.
"Wuaagh!"
The sword had punched clean through Ding Chou's chest. His face turned deathly pale in an instant—he stopped attacking immediately, mouth gaping open as a torrent of blood sprayed outward.
"Ahhhhh!"
Suddenly, he threw his head back and unleashed a furious roar toward the heavens, as if venting all the defiance and unwillingness in his heart. He roared for a solid moment before collapsing with a heavy thud, lying motionless on the combat platform. His eyes had already gone blank, as though he couldn't muster another ounce of strength. The formidable Seven Wounds of Fatal Force had clearly taken a tremendous toll on his body—he had long since reached his absolute limit.
As for Chu Feng, though his face was also pale, drenched in beads of sweat the size of soybeans, his clothes soaked through and his breathing ragged with exhaustion—he was still standing. He stood there on the combat platform, its surface utterly ravaged and cratered beyond recognition.
He had won. Chu Feng had won! This peak clash between two prodigies had ultimately ended in Chu Feng's victory!
This disciple from a second-tier sect had successfully defeated the core disciples of multiple first-tier sects, and had even bested a genius-level disciple of the Lingyun Sect, claiming the championship of the Rising Star Assembly.
At that moment, a deafening roar of applause erupted throughout the plaza, both inside and out. The crowd cheered for Chu Feng—for when a youth at the Spirit Martial 8th Stage had defeated someone at the Yuan Martial 2nd Stage, no one could contain the surging excitement in their hearts. They couldn't help but erupt into cheers and applause for this young man.
"Chu Feng, you're amazing!"
Just as the jubilant cheers still echoed through the air, a stunning figure suddenly leaped onto the combat platform and threw her arms around Chu Feng.
Everyone was stunned, for this was none other than Su Mei—the third daughter of Su Hen, City Lord of Vermilion Bird City.
"What's going on? Isn't that Su Mei, the third young miss of the Su family? Isn't she Shangguan Ya's fiancée? Why is she being so intimate with Chu Feng? What is the relationship between them?"
Speculation rippled through the crowd. After all, everyone in Vermilion Bird City knew that Su Mei was Shangguan Ya's fiancée—a betrothal that had been settled the moment she was born.
But right now, what was Su Mei playing at? Embracing Chu Feng in front of such a massive crowd—wasn't this a slap in the face to the Shangguan family, a direct affront to Shangguan Ya himself?
"Damn it." Standing outside the plaza, Shangguan Ya clenched both fists, a murderous glint shooting from his eyes. Su Mei's actions had, without question, publicly cuckolded him and stripped him of every last shred of dignity.
"Rou'er, this..." Even Su Hen's expression changed dramatically as he realized something was terribly wrong.